Wayward Winds
by EmptySurface
Summary: Harry has had a lousy couple of days. Not only has he been attacked and almost robbed of his soul, no, he's been kind of expelled from his school -the only place he can even remotely call home- for defending himself and then been ignored by everyone he know for days! But that still isn't the strangest thing to happen yet. X-over. Rating M, because of shinobi life in general.
1. Chapter 1

**Wayward Winds**

Harry had had a lousy couple of days. Not only had he been attacked and almost robbed of his soul, no, he had been kind of expelled from his school -the only place he could even remotely call home- for defending himself and then been ignored by everyone he knew for days! He hadn't heard a thing from his friends, and the only word he had gotten from Sirius -his godfather- was a warning not to surrender his wand or do something rash. As if he had done something wrong. And to hear that from _Sirius_; first ever prisoner of Azkaban to have managed to escape and currently on the run from the Ministry, was downright insulting. Everyone was treating him like a helpless child, or a criminal, and Harry didn't know which was worse.

But to be honest, there were more things that were weighting on Harry's mind than just the Dementor attack and his friends' silence. His entire summer had been miserable.

A few weeks back, Harry had witnessed the return of the Dark Lord Voldemort, as well as the coldblooded murder of Cedric Diggory. And then he had been shipped off to the Dursley's, separated from the Wizarding world without a clue as to what was happening. Voldemort could have taken over the Ministry by now and he wouldn't know!

Well, that wasn't quite true, but he was beyond frustrated by this point.

And then he had been picked up by a bunch of wizards and witches -mainly people he didn't know- from his Aunt and Uncle's house, without warning, just to be taken to his godfather's house. He hadn't even known Sirius owned a house! He was a bit embarrassed to admit that he had blown up on Ron and Hermione the moment he had seen them, but there was just so much frustration pent up from weeks of nightmares, restlessness and lack of information that he hadn't been able to help it. It had calmed him, though, and he had been able to sit through dinner without any major incidents.

Which led up to the current situation.

The occupants of the kitchen in Grimauld Place number 12 were all sitting silently, staring at a spot in the air above the kitchen table. Most of the dinner guests had finished eating by the time they had first noticed the slight contortion, and all conversations had tapered off in favour of staring at the anomaly as if transfixed. It was unnaturally quiet.

Harry, Hermione and the Weasley children were reassured by the fact that there were several experienced adults in the room with them, and they all had their wands trained on the spot. Not that they were scared, but this was something unknown, and the more wands the safer. Right?

Remus, the first one to have noticed the strange sight five minutes ago, had had his wand trained on the spot since, his lined, tired face tense with anticipation.

No one spoke.

It looked like the air -the very fabric of the world- was bulging. With an ear-splitting noise, the air seemed to stretch and _rip_ and spat out two dark shapes right onto the table. Two heavy thuds and the sound of shattering glass and china filled the room as people dove out of the way. Harry barely registered that it were two humans before they were moving; no more than shadows slipping off the table, dragging pieces of broken plates with them that clattered to the cold stone floor, adding to the chaos. Their dark clothes and the flash of pale masks had every single person in the room tensing, guts clenching with dread; how had Death Eaters managed to enter the house? There were so many unanswered questions, but all such things were pushed to the back of their minds as they readied themselves for the fight that was no doubt about to take place.

Harry was only absently aware of the fact that Sirius had grabbed him and dragged him behind himself, using his body like a shield between Harry and the intruders.

. o . O . o .

It took a moment before they realised that no one was attacking. The two strangers were crouching in the corner, where one of them had dragged his companion the moment he had touched down on the table. The shadows in the room danced eerily over the bone white masks, doing nothing to calm their racing hearts.

It was easy to see that they were both rather bad off. One of them was leaning heavily on the other, and it looked like his friend's grip was the only thing that was keeping him up off the floor.

"Who are you?" Remus asked, seemingly calm and collected, taking half a step forward.

The foremost man's mask turned in his direction and it became clear that this was no Death Eater mask. It looked like the face of some kind of canine, with a grinning mouthful of teeth. The mask was also splattered with blood, and other things rather not dwelled upon.

Remus frowned and took another step forward, but stopped when the man shifted his stance slightly. A reflection of the dim light in the kitchen caught his eye, and his gaze fell on an odd knife the stranger held between him and the rest of the room in a clearly defensive position.

"Get the kids out of here." Remus ordered. These might not be Death Eaters, but they still didn't know that they weren't a threat. Not to mention they looked far from harmless, no matter the state they were in.

Not a word of protest was to be heard when Sirius and Molly herded the teenagers to the door on the other side of the room, most likely because the teens hadn't recovered from the shock yet.

Once they were alone, Sirius came to stand next to his friend.

"What do we do?"

"Arthur, send a message to Dumbledore please. He needs to come here." Remus practically ordered. Arthur nodded and sent off a patronus, which raced off through one of the walls.

The masked man flinched minutely at the display of magic, and tensed further. As if he expected them to attack.

The room fell into a heavy, oppressive silence, caught in a stalemate since none of them seemed to know what to do. The only sound to be heard was the heavy, laboured breathing of one of the intruders, the one who was being shielded by the other. It was obvious he was rather seriously injured, though his dark clothing concealed in what way.

"Please put down the knife." Remus urged in a smooth, gentle voice. The kind of voice you might use when talking to frightened animals or children.

If anything, the man tightened his grip on the knife instead.

"I'm going to stun him." Sirius breathed in his ear, and Remus gave an almost imperceptible nod. "_Stupefy_."

It was obvious by the way the intruder's body twitched that he was physically restraining himself from moving out of the spell's path. If he did, he would leave his companion wide open to the attack, and it was somewhat comforting to know he cared enough for his friend not to let anything happen to him if he could help it.

The red light struck the man right in the chest and he collapsed to the floor as if his strings had been cut, no more than a boneless puppet. When the first man fell, his companion was not far behind, crumbling into a gasping heap without the support.

"Tie them up." Sirius murmured as he conjured ropes around the first one. Remus nodded and did the same to the other. Meanwhile, Bill brought a couple of chairs over and they easily charmed the two men into them.

Remus quickly secured them to the sturdy wood, binding arms and legs to the chairs to prevent them from moving. These were hard times, and you could never be too careful.

"I'll wake him up to see if we can get any answers out of him." Sirius declared. "Everyone ready?" Several tense nods and raised wands later, and Sirius placed himself in front of the man. "_Enervate_."

A few seconds ticked by and then they could tell, by the way he tensed, that the man was awake. After a breath or two, he raised his masked face to look at them. Sirius could see the light reflected in a couple of eyes, but no other indicator that there was an actual human being behind the mask. It didn't help that the only exposed skin for them to see was the area between elbows and shoulders and the tips of their fingers, everything else was covered by dark cloth.

"Who're you?"

No answer.

"How did you get in here?"

Again, there was no reaction at all, and for every question Sirius fired off, the more agitated his voice became.

"Let me try." Bill finally said after some internal deliberation. He wasn't too skilled in the mind arts but he knew enough to get by. He could see his mother wanted to protest, but sent her a reassuring look before he strode over to Sirius. The man nodded and let Bill crouch down in front of the stranger. He tried to take off the mask, but the damn thing stubbornly refused to give even an inch. With a frustrated huff, he levelled his wand between the stranger's eyes. The mask wouldn't really hinder what he planned to do, but it was eerie to look at. The strong smell of blood clinging to the man wasn't helping either.

"_Legillimens_."

. o . O . o .

Naruto watched the strangers surrounding him and his teammate warily. He was tired, in pain, and on edge. His mind was working a mile a minute on adrenaline, trying to figure out what had happened and where the hell they were. The two of them were surrounded and outnumbered, but it weren't the enemies that had chased and tried to kill them only a few minutes before.

He could tell they hadn't expected their arrival, both by their reaction as well as the presence of several children.

The moment he had landed on something solid, he had dragged his partner with him to the wall, into a position more easily defended. He had expected a trap, and reacted accordingly. They were both in the need of medical attention and he couldn't help but tense when one of them spoke.

It sounded like utter gibberish. Not a single word made sense to him.

It was truly worrying. Even if they had ended up in a remote part of the Elemental Countries he should have been able to at least _recognize_ the accent.

And then they sent the children out of the room. Sure, he would have done that, too, but it might indicate that they would become violent. He was not really in any shape to fight; not that he was unable to, but he'd have to leave his friend unattended while taking care of the others and he didn't want that. He'd be damned, but he wouldn't leave a friend open and vulnerable if he could help it.

The air grew heavy and dense when no one moved or spoke. Naruto didn't know how long they stood there, but the weight on his back grew heavier with every breath. The bright jutsu one of them used made him stiffen, at the ready for anything, but nothing happened. Whatever it was had just run straight through the wall. He had thought it to be a trick, at first, but it didn't come back. He had to blink several times to clear his sight, forcing himself to focus solely on the people instead of the spot on the wall the thing had run through.

One of the men took a step forward, holding a stick up between them. Naruto had no idea what the stick was supposed to be, but it was held like a weapon, so that's what he would treat it as. More words were spoken, but none that he could understand.

When it seemed they had finally had enough of waiting, the black haired one took a step towards his friend, posture leaning towards aggressive, whispered something to him and then focused entirely on Naruto. He waved his stick and a bright red light rushed out of it.

Naruto's body twitched when all of his instincts and reflexes _screamed_ at him to get out of the way, that he had no idea what this jutsu might do to him. But he couldn't. If he moved, Kakashi would take the hit instead. He braced himself for whatever might come, but when the light finally hit, right in the chest, all he got was a vague sensation of falling before everything faded to black.

When he next came to, he was sitting down. Like all experienced shinobi, he didn't give any sign to have woken up, but silently took stock of his condition. It didn't feel like much time had passed since he had been knocked out, judging by the lack of stiff and sore muscles, but he quickly realised that he was tied securely to a chair, unable to move either arms or legs.

When nothing happened, he tensed and slowly raised his head.

Now sitting down, everyone in the room towered over him, filling him with a sense of overwhelming dread. Crap. He carefully regulated his breathing while he shoved his emotions to the back of his mind and locked them away, ANBU training kicking into full gear, all the while considering the fact that he had been well and truly captured. He did not look forward to the next few hours.

They seemed to have a short discussion before the black haired one took a step towards him, asking him a question. It was easy to tell it was a question by the inflection of his voice and the demanding posture that accompanied it, but he didn't have the faintest idea as to what he was being asked about. Not that he would have answered if he could, but still. It was disconcerting.

The man grew more and more agitated by his lack of reaction, until one of the men in the background spoke up. He walked up to them, calming a plump woman down with a look as he passed. The woman looked remarkably similar to him, and he guessed she must be his mother. Civilian, his mind supplied in a detached sort of way. No professional would ever let his or her body become that out of shape.

Eventually, the redheaded man stopped in front of him and tried to tug off his mask. Naruto had already activated the seal on the inside which made it impossible for anyone other than another Konoha ANBU to remove the mask, and highly suspected Kakashi had done the same. Frustrated, the redhead levelled his stick between Naruto's eyes and he braced himself. A single word was spoken before the strangest sensation washed over him.

Naruto was fairly familiar with his own mind, what with the Bijuu that had shared it with him since an hour after his birth and all, and immediately noticed the intrusion. He didn't know what to do about it, though, and felt himself panic. If he was _inside his mind, _how was he supposed to stop him from just taking whatever information he wanted?! He hadn't been trained for this!

A loud roar that reverberated throughout his mindscape effectively pushed the stranger out, and Naruto sent a thankful thought Kurama's way, relaxing slightly in the chair now that his mind was once more fully his own. Or as much as it ever was...

. o . O . o .

Bill gasped and stumbled back when he was forcefully evicted from the intruder's mind.

"Bill! Are you alright?" His mother was at his side immediately, fluttering nervously. "What's wrong?" She quickly took in his pale complexion, but Bill's gaze was fixed on the masked man.

One hand pressed to his temple, he resisted the urge to hurl. "I'm fine." He managed to grit out.

"You don't look fine, kid." Sirius spoke softly, a grim expression on his face.

Bill waved his comment aside. "He managed to push me out, that's never pleasant." He explained. "But before he did, I got a cursory glance of his surface thoughts." He confessed.

"And?"

"He thinks we're going to torture him." Bill guessed he looked positively green by now. When he looked around, he noted that he wasn't the only one.

"I don't think they're affiliated with Death Eaters, then." Tonks spoke up for the first time. "Moody's told me they always mocked our side for our 'softness' the last time 'round."

Remus nodded. "They know Dumbledore would never allow the Order to torture anyone." He confirmed faintly, a small frown on his face. They all shared a contemplative silence, trying to digest the scant amount of information they had managed to gather.

The sound of the front door opening made them all jump, and Molly hurried out into the hallway. She returned a moment later with the old headmaster in tow.

"Arthur, I recieved your message." Albus said. The usual twinkle in his eyes was absent, and he looked uncharacteristically grim. His gaze immediately fell on the two bound men and he frowned.

A sharp look was all it took to urge Remus to explain what had happened and what they had done so far. He told the aged headmaster about how he had noticed the... _thing_ above the table and how it seemed to have ripped the air apart. How the two men had come falling from the tear and their actions leading up to the present.

"Well, all the wards are still in place and the Fidelius hasn't been affected in any way." Albus said at last, making them all release a relieved breath they hadn't fully realised they were holding. "Have they said anything at all?"

"Not even a squeak." Sirius sighed. "But Bill tried some legillimens on this one." He waved a hand at the conscious intruder.

"And?"

"I was pushed out fairly quickly, but-" Bill paused, "He thinks we're going to torture him, sir."

Silence. "I see. Did you glean anything else, anything at all?" Albus asked, voice soft.

Bill hesitated. "He's got something inside of him." He eventually said. He could feel every single person in the room focus their full attention on him at that.

"What do you mean he's got something inside of him?" Tonks asked, sounding baffled.

"Exactly what I said." Bill snapped defensively, still feeling a bit queasy. "It's what pushed me out, and it felt," he searched for an appropriate word, "hostile." He shuddered.

Dumbledore looked to be deep in thought when he slowly turned back to the masked man. He conjured a flowery pink armchair and sat down, face to face with the man.

"Now, it'll be in your best interest to tell me who you are, young man." Albus began gravely, surveying the man's reaction. Apart from a tensing of the muscles, he gave no indication of having heard at all. Letting all the information he had been given swirl unhindered through his mind, mixing with what he could now see, Albus was slowly putting a theory together, and he decided to give it a try. "Now, I'm afraid I'll have to threaten to send you to bed without dinner tonight and no dessert for the rest of the week." He didn't change his tone of voice or his posture at all.

Every Order member in the room stared at Albus as if he had lost his mind.

"Albus-?" Remus began, but a raised hand effectively silenced him.

"Did you know that there's a Muggle invention that allows you to see places and incident from all over the world in your own home, with nothing more than the push of a button?"

Still no reaction.

"What're your thoughts, Albus?" Arthur finally asked.

"This young man is either the best actor I've ever encountered, or he can't understand a word I'm saying." The old wizard explained after a brief pause, calculating blue eyes never leaving the two strangers.

Sirius blinked. That would explain quite a bit.

"I'll cast a translation charm. Let's hope I'm right and see what happens." Albus took out his wand and a moment later, a soft white light rushed towards the bound, conscious man, who was so tense he might as well be made of stone. The moment the spell took hold, he slumped back in the chair and his head tipped to the side.

"Will it take long?" Molly asked anxiously. She kept glancing towards the door, worried about the children. She had, of course, already made sure they couldn't eavesdrop -like she did every time something came up, nowadays. Her lips pursed disapprovingly at the thought of Fred and George's prank goods. Why those two couldn't spend their time on anything productive, she'd never know.

"It'll take some time for the spell to do its' job, but he'll no doubt wake up in a few minutes. Now, why hasn't anyone removed their masks?"

"I tried. It's stuck." Bill shrugged, slumping down into one of the abandoned chairs around the table, massaging his temples.

Dumbledore hummed absently, studying the red pattern painted onto the white porcelain. Minutes slowly ticked by and then a barely audible groan let them know the man was once more lucid.

"I apologize; the spell gives you quite the headache." Albus said in a polite, amicable voice. His words made the man give the slightest twitch. "So I take it you understand me now?" He asked.

The man hesitated a moment before giving a shallow, hesitant nod.

"Excellent." Albus smiled. "Now, care to share with us your name?" He asked.

The man didn't move and remained silent. Not one to be easily deterred, Albus continued.

"Are you here to hurt anyone?"

A slight hesitation, and then the man shook his head.

"I see. Did you come here on purpose?"

Another shake.

"Interesting." Albus murmured to himself, the response really just confirming his suspicions.

"Albus, these two are dangerous." Remus spoke softly. "They smell of blood. Lots of it."

"Ah, yes. I can see quite a bit of blood on your clothes." Albus observed calmly, although the fluid was hard to make out on the black cloth. "Want me to call for a Healer?"

The man before him tensed, sitting as still as a rabbit in the face of a wolf.

"I suppose not, then." Albus gave a sad smile. "We won't hurt you." It was obvious the man didn't believe him, so he didn't push the matter.

"What are we supposed to do with them?" Sirius finally asked. He felt exhausted by the day's events and would very much like to go to bed and sleep for a few of hours.

"If I let you go, do you agree not to harm anyone in this house?" Albus inquired amicably. At first glance, he looked like a kind grandfather, but if you looked deeper, there was a cold, hard glint in his eyes that wouldn't give an inch in the face of danger.

The masked man nodded, tilting his head slightly to the side, as if confused.

"I will spell the two of you so that you will be unable to leave this room without my permission. In addition to that, you will have two guards with you at all times." Albus eyed the man intently. "I have a few theories as to what might have brought you here, but I'll have to research them. I'll come back tomorrow and see if I can help you get back home." With a wave of his stick, the ropes and restraints disappeared as if they'd never been there in the first place.

Naruto absently rubbed a hand over his wrist, staring at the old man as if he couldn't believe his ears.

"But don't be mistaken; if you harm _anyone _under my protection, I will grant you no mercy. Understood?"

The man gave a firm nod, as if he had expected nothing else. _That _was something Naruto could understand. And with that, he stood up and stalked over to his friend, cutting off the ropes before any of the wizards in the room had a chance to remove them for him.

"Is this really such a bright idea, Albus?" Molly asked nervously.

"I'm quite certain they won't try anything. From what you've told me, it's clear they didn't come here by choice, but I have to confirm my suspicions." Albus said, all the while he was waving his wand around the room, placing a number of wards and charms in place, to prevent their unexpected guests from leaving, amongst a few other things. He finished it all by casting two identical tracking spells on both of them, as well as another translation spell on the other man. Albus noted with interest that the one he had spoken to tensed when the spell settled, but did nothing to try and evade it or retaliate.

"I'll come back tomorrow, before noon if I can." He said and then departed.

"I'll go and check on the children and tell them everything's alright." Molly said a while later, after a long stretch of uncomfortable silence where everyone stared at the duo.

"So who'll take first watch?" Tonks asked curiously. She had clearly relaxed a bit now that there no longer appeared to be an imminent threat and the leader of the Order had given the -somewhat- all clear.

"I can stay here first. I don't have work tomorrow, and I'm not too tired." Bill offered, leaning back in his chair, finally rid of the pounding headache his try at legillimens had left him with.

Sirius sighed. "If you can stay a while, I'll come and relieve you once I've caught a few hours' of sleep." He looked questioningly at his younger cousin.

"Sure. I'll just have to send a message to Mad-Eye." She shrugged.

"You do that, I'll wait here until you come back." Sirius promised. Tonks nodded and left, deciding to cast her patronus in another room. Constant Vigilance, and all that.

A soft poof made them all turn back to the strangers. Sirius blinked and stared at the small cloud of quickly dissipating smoke that hung in the air around the bloke. A scroll was partly rolled out on the floor, and a thick blanket was folded neatly on top of it.

Sirius, Arthur, Bill and Remus all watched as the man spread the blanket out over the floor, placed his friend on it on his stomach, and then carefully managed to manoeuvre him out of his shirt without removing the mask.

"Bloody hell." Sirius hissed, staring at the man's back. Is was smeared in blood, coming from several deep lacerations. It almost looked as if he had been mauled by some sort of animal, and the exposed flesh was glistening sickeningly in the dim light.

The masked man shot him a quick glance, but his steady hands didn't stop working even once, betraying his experience when dealing with such things. He brought out what looked like a plain medical pack. Sirius slowly eased himself into a chair while he stared, mesmerized, while the man cleaned his friend's wounds and then stitched them closed with small, neat knots. When he was done, he cut the thread with his knife and scrutinized his work. With a final nod, he made sure the injured man was laying in a relatively comfortable position, before carefully taking a seat on the floor next to him.

With one long, assessing look at them, he carefully pulled up his own shirt until it was bunched up around his chest.

Sirius could absently hear Bill swear when they caught sight of the man's stomach. A large gash was gaping at them, weeping a small but constant stream of blood. The wound was slightly slanted, and was almost a foot long, but the man inspected it with a clinical detachment that was somewhat disturbing, probing the skin around it with quick, precise fingers. It must've hurt -badly- but the man gave no sign of it. The wound looked deep, but seemed to have sliced mainly muscle.

When he was finished with cleaning the wound and picked up the needle and threat, Bill actually ran from the room, unable to watch. Sirius, on the other hand, couldn't tear his eyes away. He had never seen a man stitch himself up before.

"Doesn't that hurt?" He heard himself ask. The man looked up, sharp gaze zeroing in on him in an instant. His head tilted slightly to the side, his fingers pushing the needle through his torn muscles and skin, not taking his eyes away from Sirius for a moment.

"Yes." Is was the first word he had spoken since his arrival, and Sirius hoped it was the mask that made his voice sound like that; sounding almost inhuman in its blank monotone.

"Don't you have any anaesthetics?" Remus asked softly.

The man cocked his head again, eyeing them curiously, all the while pulling the needle through his frayed skin and muscle, slowly knitting it back together.

"I do."

"And you don't feel the need to use it?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"This is nothing." The man dismissed their worries and turned back to his work. It would be better to save it for when he really needed it. Once he was done, he wiped off the excess blood and then turned back to his friend.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and focused on Kakashi's condition. After a brief discussion with Kurama, he focused their combined chakra to his left hand and held it over his sensei's back. Once he had gathered a suitable amount, he pushed it into the older man's body. It would help with the rather severe chakra exhaustion the man was suffering from, and thus help the body heal it's wounds. Naruto reached into his pouch and took out a jar filled with a pale ointment, and began to smear it over all of Kakashi's wounds, and then did the same to his own stitched gash. Without a medic, this was the best he could do. Once he was done, he pulled down his shirt again, ignoring it's ruined state and the way it clung to his skin because of the blood soaking the fabric.

"Is he done?" Bill asked from the door, sounding rather uncomfortable.

"Yes." Arthur said, rising from his seat and walked across the room. "You can come back in. Is Nymphadora with you?"

The girl in question came walking in behind Bill, giving the duo she was supposed to guard a curious look. Her eyes widened comically when she caught sight of the newly stitched wounds.

"Merlin's saggy balls." She whispered. "You weren't kidding."

"Good night, then." Arthur gave them all a half-hearted smile that looked more like a tired grimace and then left.

"Yeah," Sirius suppressed a yawn. "I think I should get some sleep, too." He said slowly. "See you in a couple of hours, Cousin." And with that, he and Remus left the kitchen, heads together and having a hushed discussion of the nights events.

Meanwhile, Naruto settled down for a long night with his back against the wall. He was tired -exhausted, really- but he was not about to fall asleep amongst strangers. Not to mention he'd have to keep an eye on Kakashi's condition throughout the night.

It were times like these he cursed his poor chakra control; it made it impossible to learn and use medical jutsu. Nonetheless, he'd have to do the best he could with what he had.

. o . O . o .

"Morning." Remus greeted tiredly when he walked into the kitchen, suppressing a yawn. Sirius only grunted in response, taking another sip out of his cup. "Did he sleep at all?" He asked, eyeing the masked man, who was sitting on the floor beside his friend, back against the wall and seeming to stare intently at them -the mask made it hard to tell for sure.

"Nope." Sirius confirmed his suspicion. "Are the kids up yet?"

"I haven't heard anything, but it can't be long now." Remus took a seat and thanked Molly when she handed him a plate of breakfast. He had decided to stay the night at headquarters, due to last nights... excitement.

"Is it really wise? To let them come in here, I mean." The woman shot the two strangers an anxious look.

Remus noted that the... _less_ injured one had replaced his shirt sometime during the night, and he no longer smelled as strongly of blood and death.

"We can't really move them, and there's only one kitchen." Arthur stated logically, turning the page of the morning's _Daily Prophet _he was reading. "And besides, Albus was fairly confident they wouldn't hurt anyone, or he wouldn't have left them like this."

"Well, one of them is not in the shape to do much of anything, really." Molly muttered, eyeing the stitched and bruised skin on the unconscious man's bare back with obvious distaste, an edge of concern in her expression, despite herself.

The matter was quickly taken out of their hands then, since Harry, Hermione and -surprisingly- Ron all walked into the kitchen. Molly raised an eyebrow at her son.

"You're up early today, Ron."

"Yeah." Ron shrugged, looking uncomfortable under his mother's scrutiny. "Stuff's happening. Wouldn't want to miss it." He mumbled as he slumped into a chair.

Hermione, however, was fully focused on the two men. "Who did the stitches?" She was surprised to see them; wizards generally scoffed at Muggle medicine and found the practise barbaric.

"He did." Sirius said, placing his empty cup on the table. "And then he stitched himself up afterwards."

"He did _what_?" Harry looked up at his godfather, an incredulous expression on his face. He wasn't as squeamish when it came to muggle medicine as most magical people, but doing it to yourself?

"It is not something noteworthy." A smooth, cool voice spoke up, causing the rest of the inhabitants in the kitchen to fall silent. Everyone turned to look at the seated, masked man. "I am not skilled in the medical arts, so I have to resort to methods such as this." He mentioned towards Kakashi with a wave of his gloved hand. Naruto did not see the harm of divulging this, as he failed to see how they could use it against him. In a sense, he hadn't told them anything they couldn't figure out on their own.

Sirius huffed out a small laugh. "So how many times have you stitched yourself up?" He asked, grasping this opportunity to maybe gain some information about the two strangers.

"Not too often." The man gave a subtle twitch of one shoulder which seemed to serve as a shrug. "I usually let my wounds be until a medic can see to them." Sakura had been rather angry the first time he had tried to wrap a wound, but he suspected that had just been a representation of her worry... probably. Violent woman. In the end, she had taken him aside to teach him proper 'first aid' as she had called it.

"Uh... and you get injured often?" Harry asked carefully. He had trouble seeing any situation in which you had no choice but to stitch up yourself. The present notwithstanding.

Naruto stilled before letting out a quiet sigh. "Fairly often." He inclined his head slightly, watching their reactions curiously. The plump, redheaded woman muttered darkly about hot-headed, reckless young men. "It's an occupational hazard." He added, amused by the strange reaction.

"And what is your occupation?" Remus asked.

Naruto stilled. "You can't tell?" He eyed them all incredulously, thankful for the mask covering his face, or he might have accidentally slipped from the ANBU trademark detachment.

"The only thing we've seen that resembles your get-up is a group of lunatics that run around killing people for fun." Ron managed to get out between mouthfuls of food.

Naruto frowned; that sounded more like nuke-nin. Some of his confusion must have come across, because the dark haired boy clarified,

"They're called Death Eaters."

Naruto snorted. "What a stupid name." He couldn't help but blurt. Several people around the table blinked and then burst out laughing.

Naruto just blinked and studied them curiously. He decided that he kind of liked these people. He was still hesitant about trusting them, or sharing information, but he didn't think they were enemies. With a sigh he got to his feet and stretched carefully, mindful of the stitches on his stomach and then looked Kakashi over. Once he was satisfied, he turned to the woman who seemed to be in charge in the kitchen.

"Excuse me, could I have some water?" He asked politely.

The redheaded woman startled and then gave him a slow nod. "Of course." A minute later, she handed him a glass filled with clear liquid.

Naruto eyed it carefully and then sniffed it, just to be safe, before giving her an appreciative nod and then walked back to Kakashi. He crouched down next to his former sensei, produced a clean piece of cloth and soaked it in the water. He then carefully cleaned his wounds, ridding it of excess fluids that had seeped out and dried during the night. When he was done, he took out the ointment again and applied another layer, making sure to cover every wound and bruise.

"What's that?"

Naruto straightened and shot the brown-haired girl a quick look. "It's a salve to prevent infection and speed up the healing." He answered while he worked.

When he was done with Kakashi, he lifted his shirt and inspected his own wound. After he had wiped it clean, he prodded the bruised skin tentatively with his fingers. With a slight nod, he took out a kunai -much to the onlooker's growing trepidation- and cut through the first stitch and pulled it out.

"What are you doing?" Molly practically screeched.

Naruto looked up at her, tilted her head to the side in silent question. "Why?" He asked, pulling out another one.

"Why did you stitch the wound if you'd pull them out the day after?" Remus asked, confused.

"Any longer and they'll be stuck." He said, unconcerned.

"That's ridiculous." Hermione muttered under her breath. The man just shrugged and continued to tug the knots out of his skin until they were all removed. He inspected the angry red line and then covered it with the ointment, just to be safe. He couldn't run to Sakura if anything happened here, after all.

"So, do you have a name?" Sirius finally asked.

The man raised his head and eyed them all intently. "You can call me Fox." He pointed at his mask. "And that's Dog." He jerked his head towards Kakashi.

"Is that really your name?" Harry asked sceptically. Somehow, he had trouble seeing parents naming their children after animals like that, no matter where they lived.

"No." Naruto wasn't bothered at all by the admission. Fox was his ANBU code-name, so it wasn't even an outright lie.

"Alright, then. My name is Sirius." Sirius shrugged. He could get why they might not want to reveal their true names, since they were pretty much their prisoners at the moment. "That's my godson, Harry, his friend Hermione, and this is my friend Remus."

"Arthur Weasley." Arthur put down his paper and introduced himself. "This is my wife Molly," He indicated the plump woman. "Ron, my youngest son, and you met Bill last night; my oldest."

"Ah, yes. The mind intruder." Naruto nodded.

"The what?" Ron asked, giving him a weird look.

"About that, Bill said there was something inside of you." Remus asked curiously. Everyone was surprised when Naruto stiffened and turned to stare at them, suddenly seeming a lot less friendly than he had just a moment ago, despite the fact that he looked just the same. "...alright, that's clearly not up for discussion." Remus murmured awkwardly.

"Let's get something straight." Naruto began in a matter-of-fact voice. "You might not have hurt me and Dog yet, but I do not trust you."

"You think we would be able to hurt you after having spent time together like this?" Molly asked, looking affronted.

"I don't see why not." Naruto shrugged and returned to putting his med-pack away. "I've had more familiar people turn around to try and kill me." Which was something he normally tried not to think about.

"That's really sad." Hermione spoke softly after a long pause, giving him an almost pitying look.

Naruto stiffened and turned to stare at her. "It's the way of the world ." He intoned flatly. Things had worked out in the end; People had died and there had been lots of suffering, but they had worked their way passed it.

"So, is he alright?" Harry asked, looking over at... Dog. It felt weird to call a person that, and it wasn't even intended as an insult.

"Probably." Naruto sighed and turned to stare at Kakashi. "He's exhausted and injured, but he should wake up eventually."

"We could send for a healer." Molly said, again looking over at the injured man. "She would have him right as rain in a moment."

"No." Naruto slowly shook his head. "I still do not trust you. For all I know, you could try to kill him, or sneak into his mind." His eyes narrowed behind his mask, feeling twitchy at the mere thought.

Molly looked insulted that someone would think she'd ever do something like that, and was about to say as much when they were interrupted by the arrival of Bill.

"I guess that's my fault." He chuckled awkwardly, clearly having caught at least part of the conversation. "Sorry about that, but you can never be too careful."

"My point exactly." Naruto inclined his head. He studied the long haired man a moment; he looked tired. Of course, he had been up most of the night, keeping an eye on him and Kakashi, but still. Silence settled over the kitchen as the people around the table ate. They were all conversing quietly and Fox moved back to sit beside Kakashi. He had one leg up towards his chest and rested his arm on his knee while leaning his head back against the wall and let the sounds wash over him. It was very peaceful.

. o . O . o .

He tensed and raised his head when he heard the sound of a door opening. It seemed the entire family had convened to the kitchen now, and it was fairly noisy. There were a lot of redheads, Naruto had quickly realised, and it was obvious they were all closely related. There was a clear dominance of males, as there were only two girls, and the Mother. Of course, Naruto remembered the young woman from the day before, but she hadn't made an appearance since she'd left last night.

"I'll see who just entered." The Mother said and hurried off. Naruto felt a slight smile twitch his lips. He had watched her all morning doing her best to take care of her family, especially the children. It must be such a nice thing; family.

"Good day, everyone." The old man from the day before had returned, and was giving the room a cursory glance before his gaze settled on Naruto.

Without waiting to be prompted, Naruto rose gracefully with a wary edge and gave him a short nod. He immediately noticed that the man had not entered alone. He had another old man with him, with flyaway grey hair and mismatched eyes, and this one was badly scarred. Naruto didn't think he had ever before seen anyone with more scars than smooth, unmarred skin. He was clearly some kind of fighter, but he couldn't determine -by the sheer number of scars- if he was skilled or not.

"There's been no trouble, I presume?" The old man asked with a smile. Naruto just tilted his head to the side; if he had caused 'trouble' there would be dead bodies lying around.

"None at all, Albus." Sirius said cheerfully. Molly scowled at him but said nothing. She was clearly not pleased by Naruto and Kakashi's presence in her home, and viewed them as a threat to her young. Naruto didn't blame her.

He nodded and turned his attention to the two masked ones. "I see that your friend has yet to regain consciousness." He commented, sounding slightly worried as he eyed the exposed, blemished skin.

"He's catching up on some sleep." Naruto said, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do in a situation like this. He couldn't recall any appropriate protocol for this.

Albus nodded. "Shall we take a seat, then?" He conjured two comfortable-looking armchairs.

Naruto stared. He had been too out of it yesterday to really notice the strangeness. The old man seemed to take note of his surprise.

"You don't have magic where you come from?" He asked curiously.

"Magic?" Naruto parroted sceptically. The entire room was listening attentively now, some more obviously than others. "No."

"Ah," Albus paused. "That might make this a bit complicated to explain, then." He murmured to himself, before clearing his throat. "See this? This is a wand; a tool we use to perform magic." To demonstrate, he twirled his wand and produced a rain of sparks and then transfigured a plate into a rabbit and back again.

"It seems," He tried to find a word that wouldn't insult anyone. "a bit useless." Naruto commented blandly as he picked up the plate to examine it.

Albus chuckled. "What I showed you was just a demonstration to prove magic's existence." He assured. "We can use it to lift heavy objects, cook, clean, repair broken possessions and a number of additional thing. The possibilities are close to endless."

Naruto nodded to show he understood. "I noticed that you held them like weapons last night." There was a touch of amusement to his otherwise monotone voice, if you knew to listen for it.

"Ah, yes." Albus sighed regretfully. "It is the darker side to magic, I'm afraid."

Naruto waved a hand dismissively. He was very familiar with the darker side of humanity and didn't find it strange at all that this magic thing wasn't exempt.

"To get back to your current situation." Albus continued. "Magic being what it is, it makes otherwise impossible things reality. I have perused every book I could find on the subject, and it seems to me as if you and your friend have managed to come here from another world, another dimension, if you want." He paused to let that sink in. "Judging by what I was told happened when you arrived here, it seems to me as if the two of you fell through a rip in the universes' boundary, although I must admit I have no idea as to how that is possible."

Naruto thought it through carefully for a few minutes, ignoring the excited whispering over at the table. With a heavy sigh he turned his attention back to the old man.

"How do I know that you're speaking the truth? You could be lying and this is all just an illusion." Naruto pointed out.

Albus smiled thinly. "I'm afraid I have no way of assuring you of my sincerity." He inclined his head apologetically. "Do you have any way of asserting the truth?"

Naruto mulled over the question. "I might." He said eventually. He raised his hands to form a seal, but hesitated. "Will you trust me to try?" He asked curiously, tilting his head to the side. It was something of a stalemate, he recognized; for Naruto to trust him that this was a different dimension, he had to do this, but they might not trust him to verify it, knowing nothing about him.

"Will it hurt anyone?"

"No." Naruto shook his head; nicking his thumb for blood didn't count. "But it might be... startling." He smiled.

"I'll have my wand trained on you the entire time, boy, so don't try anything." The scarred man growled, eyeing him mistrustfully.

"I would suggest that you don't make any too sudden movements." Albus compromised.

Naruto gave a final nod and then slowly went through the hand seals, fished out a kunai and cut his thumb, before slamming his palm against the floor. A second later, a puff of smoke filled the spot where he had pressed his hand only moments before. He heard several gasps when the smoke cleared to reveal a large, dark red toad with blue markings on the head. It was about the size of a middle-sized dog.

"Yo!" It greeted, shocking the room's inhabitants further.

"Kosuke." Naruto nodded. "I have a question for you."

"Of course, Fox. Ask away." Kosuke nodded for him to continue. Naruto crouched down in front of him to look Kosuke in the eyes.

"That man," He twitched a finger towards Albus, "says that Dog and I have somehow ended up in a different dimension." He paused to let Kosuke digest his words. "Is that true? Can you tell?"

"Hmm." Kosuke looked thoughtful. He flicked his tongue out to taste the air slightly and then looked around, eyeing the people present with a scrutinising look. "It's different." He finally conceded.

"So it's true?" Naruto couldn't help but sound dismayed. Kosuke nodded and Naruto let out a gusty sigh, shoulders slumping slightly. He then perked up at a thought. "Couldn't I just Summon Gama or Gamakichi so that they could bring us home?" He asked hopefully.

"'Fraid not, Fox." Kosuke scratched absently at his chin. "The jump between dimensions is much longer than I'm used to, and it's not really the same. More resistance. My guess is that it would be very harmful for any humans." He shrugged. There wasn't anything he could do about that.

"Well, it was worth a shot." Naruto said, before thanking him for his time. "Give my regards to Fukasaku and Shima, will you?"

"Of course." Kosuke smiled. "Tread carefully and stay safe." Kosuke eyed the people in the room one last time and then left in a puff of smoke.

"I thought you said you didn't have magic." The young brunette said, sounding a mix between awed and accusing.

Naruto blinked and returned to his chair. "That wasn't magic." The unfamiliar word rolling awkwardly off his tongue.

"What was it then, if you don't mind me asking?" Albus smiled.

"I use chakra." Naruto watched curiously as confused expressions flitted across their faces. "It is a mix between my physical and mental energy." He tried to explain simply.

"Fascinating." Albus murmured, looking intrigued.

"B-But you just... A-And it_ talked_!" Hermione exclaimed, slightly hysterical now that the initial shock had settled.

"Why wouldn't he be able to talk?" Naruto frowned. The toads were his friends, and he didn't take it well when someone looked down on or insulted them.

"Forgive us; we've never seen anything quite like it before." Albus explained smoothly. "But to get back to the topic at hand; I take it you now believe me when I say that this is a different dimension from the one you were born in?"

"I guess." Naruto grudgingly nodded.

"I will, of course, try and help you and your friend so that you can get home. Unfortunately I can't tell you how long it will take, especially since I don't have any explanation for how this happened in the first place." He looked troubled.

Naruto, suddenly feeling exceptionally tired, leaned his elbows on his knees and rubbed a hand over the black cloth that was covering his hair. This was all very troubling. "That is very kind of you." He muttered before pulling himself together. "Why?" He asked then.

"Pardon?" It appeared the old man had not expected such a question.

"Why would you help us? What's in it for you? We're not your responsibility."

"Suspicious brat, aren't you?" Moody muttered amusedly with an air of approval.

"It is the right thing to do, my boy." Albus began. "Since you're from a different dimension, you know no one here, and you will require assistance to get home." He gave a subtle shrug. "And you appeared in a somewhat unfortunate time, not to mention place."

"You're having trouble with these Death Eaters?" Naruto guessed. He was no stranger to the signs he could easily read on all the gathered people.

Albus looked shocked for all of a second, before pinning the table's occupants with an expectant look.

Sirius shrugged. "We talked a bit."

"I see. And yes, that's quite correct." Albus sighed. "To be perfectly honest, we're at war."

Naruto nodded; that explained quite a bit about the people here and their reactions. He thought it through for a few minutes before coming to a decision.

"I cannot allow you to help us in such desperate times without any form of payment." He declared firmly. He stood up. "I cannot speak for my partner, but you may use me however you see fit for your cause, in return for your future assistance." He gave a deep, formal bow to the old man. There were several raised eyebrows at the end of that statement.

"What could we possibly do with you?" Moody asked sceptically.

An air of amusement overcame the masked man. "Quite a bit."

"It is very generous of you to offer." Albus nodded with a smile. "If I may ask, what exactly is it that you do?"

"I am ANBU." Naruto stated briskly, gesturing to his mask. At the blank looks all around the room, he tried to elaborate. "We are... special forces. Skilled shinobi."

"Shinobi? I have never heard that word before." Remus mused.

"Shinobi are the military force of my world." Naruto tried to explain all this, things that were considered common knowledge in the Elemental Countries. "We belong to a Country, or more specifically to a Hidden Village." He frowned and took a breath. "There, we are ruled over by the strongest shinobi in the Village, which is the Kage. He or she accepts missions from civilians, which funds the village. Such missions may be anything from menial labour, to escorting and protecting merchants, to assassinations." He shrugged. Silence rang loudly. And then the room exploded with varying reactions to his last statement.

"You're mercenaries!?" Someone exclaimed. Naruto thought it over.

"In a way." He tilted his head. "We never accepts missions on our own, though, and it always goes through official channels, such as the Kage, and or the Council."

"But you're killers for hire." The Mother growled, looking like she wanted to bodily drag her children from the room, away from him. He knew that they were civilians, but it hurt just a little more than he had expected.

Naruto gave a small, sad smile behind his mask. "We, shinobi, are human weapons. We are wielded by our Kage, our country. All the necessary things that no one wants to think about, much less do, we carry out for the safety and betterment of the Country and everyone in it." And there wasn't really anything they could say to that.

"And you're offering these services to us in exchange for helping you home?" Albus murmured, already running through the possibilities in his mind.

Naruto nodded. "Yes. I am quite capable, I assure you."

"And if I do not wish to send you out to assassinate anyone?" Albus raised an eyebrow.

"I offered, I never said you had to take it up." He studied the old man intently. "But we are not so limited that that's our only use. Like I said; we're most often hired as bodyguards, or used as spies. I'm quite skilled at certain types of infiltration, myself, while Dog is an excellent tracker and strategist."

"I see."

"And now that you've established that we're not a threat, are you going to remove that mask?" Moody's rough voice rumbled in the muted, thoughtful atmosphere.

Naruto stilled. "This mask proves that I am ANBU; it is my identity when on duty." He tried to explain. "I have earned the right to wear it, but it is more." He felt rather frustrated with his lack of success in making them understand. "It protects me, but it also protects my precious people and the people I work for. When I work, I am the mask."

"How? it's just a mask." Ron frowned.

"When I'm out on missions, I'm sometimes forced to do," He hesitated. "unsavoury things." And he hoped they would leave it at that. "This mask prevents people from seeing who I am and then get revenge on the people around me, or on my Country."

A stunned silence was left in the wake of his words.

"But you're in a different world now." Harry pointed out quietly. Naruto considered it. It was true, in a sense, but he still felt reluctant. The mask was safe.

"I will discuss it with my partner once he wakes up." And that was as much as he was willing to promise at the moment. "But you're forgetting, you may have proven that you are not directly hostile, but trust is hard to earn." He paused. "Especially for someone like me." He added softly.

"That's why you thought we would torture you." Bill said suddenly, as if he had just connected the dots.

Naruto gave a minute flinch. After a long, uncomfortable silence, where he was the centre of attention for the entire room, he tried to explain. "Getting captured, for people like me, is not exactly pleasant. I am ANBU, and very valuable to my village. If other villages can get their hands on the information I have..." His voice drifted off.

"Has it ever happened? To you?" The young, redheaded girl asked. Naruto was surprised that there was something akin to understanding in her young eyes.

"Yes." And that was all he would say on the matter.

"I hope you can understand that that goes both ways, and as much as I'd like to, I can't just trust the two of you." Albus said with a tired sigh.

"Of course."

"I understand that young Mr Weasley tried some legillimens on you yesterday." Albus said. "Would you be willing to submit to it again? Just so that I can establish that you are, indeed, who you say you are and that you are trustworthy?"

Naruto felt his apprehension rise. "You want to enter my mind?"

"Yes."

He discussed it with Kurama, and the fox assured him that he would be able to withhold sensitive information from the old man if he broke his word and ventured into places he had no right going.

"What would you intend to view?" Naruto asked stiffly; he was not going to run recklessly into this. He had changed at least that much since his Genin days.

"I'd look for some general memories to verify that what you have told us is true, as well as a few of your characteristics, to see what kind of person you are." Albus answered truthfully.

Naruto and Kurama supposed that wasn't too unreasonable.

"Fine." He conceded. "But let me warn you; if you stray and try to look for things you have no right looking at, you will be forcefully thrown out." Naruto's voice took on a steely note that brooked no argument.

"That sounds reasonable." Albus agreed. "Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Then relax, and try to think about the things I mentioned." Albus said and directed his wand so that it pointed between Naruto's eyes. A moment later, Naruto felt the other's mind touch his and images began to flash through his mind. It wasn't uncomfortable, per se, it just felt really weird.

He was incredily thankful for Kurama's assistance, and felt secure in the knowledge that the fox was keeping a close eye on things.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but soon enough, the old man retreated from his mind, leaving Naruto blinking rapidly as he focused back on the world around them.

"Extraordinary." Was the first word out of his mouth, hardly more than a whisper.

"So it's true?" Moody waited impatiently for Albus to confirm.

"It is." Albus rose. "Well then, for now, you will be treated as a member of the Order." Naruto cocked his head, confused. "The people who are staying here can explain things to you later today, while you await your orders."

Naruto nodded. "Very well."

"Now, I need to leave. I have quite a few things to take care of." His twinkling blue eyes shifted minutely towards the black haired boy, Naruto noted with interest.

"I'll wait for your orders, then." Naruto stood up and gave another formal bow. Albus nodded and swept out of the room, colourful robes swirling around him.

It seemed as if everyone let out a collective breath of relief.

"So you're one of us now, huh." One of the boys said, a mischievous look on his face. "Care to teach us any of these supposedly amazing skills of yours?"

"Fred!" His mother exclaimed, a look of astute horror on her face.

Naruto gave a very un-ANBU-like snort and then walked over to Kakashi to rest.

. o . O . o .

"You should really get some sleep, you know." The sand-haired man said, looking him over worriedly. It had been decided that Remus would stay at headquarters indefinitely, for now. It wasn't like he had had any success with the rest of England's werewolves so far... And Greyback wasn't exactly fond of him, so Remus wasn't complaining. "You haven't slept at all since you got here."

Naruto suppressed the urge to rub his fingers over his eyes. He was exhausted.

"I can't."

"Of course you can! We haven't done a thing to you yet; why would we wait this long if we wished you harm?" Sirius asked with a cheerful smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"You misunderstand." Naruto sighed. "It's not you I'm afraid of. I can't sleep until Dog has woken up." He muttered.

"You said he was fine." Remus turned to look at the still sleeping man. He had been out of it for more than twenty four hours now.

"He is. He's just sleeping it off." Naruto explained for what felt like the twentieth time. "It's when he wakes up I'm worried about."

"What do you mean?" Sirius couldn't help but feel curious. He had spent quite some time with Fox the last day, talking about and explaining things about their world. Naruto opened his mouth to try and explain when -as if on cue- Kakashi let out a groan.

The entire room fell quiet when Naruto hurried to his side to check on him. Once he was sure that, yes, Kakashi was waking up, he retreated a few feet away.

"No one move or speak, please." He cautioned the room's other occupants. He could actually feel the questioning stares, but was thankful when no one spoke up.

Kakashi's breathing was changing, going from the deep, even breaths of sleep to the faster, more shallow breaths of wakefulness. Not that anyone other than an experienced shinobi would be able to hear the minute difference; Kakashi hadn't survived for as long as he had without reason. As they watched, Kakashi slowly pushed himself up from the floor and his masked face turned to scan the room.

Then the worst thing possible happened. The door opened and the two girls walked in, talking enthusiastically to each other, unaware of the danger they had walked into. The only warning Naruto got was the slight tensing of muscles, and then both Kakashi and Naruto moved simultaneously, the clang of steel against steel echoing in the thick, overwhelming silence. Naruto was abruptly stationed in front of the two girls, who startled and stared up at his back with wide eyes. But before they could say a word or ask any questions, Naruto had jumped across the room and had Kakashi pinned against the wall before he could throw another volley of kunai or attack anyone else. He used his body to pin Kakashi in place, one hand keeping the man from forming any hand seals while he used the other to press his forearm firmly against Kakashi's throat.

He ignored the shocked exclamations behind him as he stared through the slits in Kakashi's mask and into his one eye.

"Calm down, you are safe." He snapped sharply, commanding. No reaction. He pressed a little harder on the man's throat. "There is no danger. Dog, are you awake?"

"I am awake." Came Kakashi's slow reply a moment later, voice sounding just as blank and oddly polite as it always did when he was wearing the Mask. He didn't seem perturbed by their position at all, as it was sadly a recurring happenstance.

"Good." Naruto nodded and slowly stepped away from the older man. "How're the wounds?"

Kakashi took a deep breath and stepped away from the wall, quickly taking stock of himself.

"Nothing too bad. You might have given me another bruise, though." He looked around the room and took in the situation. "Sorry about that."

Naruto just _knew _the man was giving that cheesy eye-smile right now. A sudden shriek made both Naruto and Kakashi flinch and their hands unwittingly twitched towards their weapons pouches.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, looking around. He found that pretty much everyone in the room was staring at him. Frowning, he glanced down on himself and saw what all the fuss was about. "Oh, it's nothing to worry about." He dismissed it calmly.

"Don't worry!?" The brunette -Hermione- practically screamed. Naruto could see Kakashi cringe at the shrill note. "That's a knife!"

"Yes." Naruto nodded, still calm, and then grabbed the handle of the kunai lodged in his shoulder and yanked it out.

Hermione looked like she was about to faint, while many of the others looked decidedly green.

"I'm sorry, Fox." Kakashi sighed. "I'll stop the bleeding for you." He offered, holding out his hand towards him.

"How're the chakra levels?" Naruto asked dryly before moving even an inch towards him.

"Recovered enough for a small medical jutsu." Kakashi stated firmly. Naruto shrugged -not the wisest decision, since it sent out another wave of blood down his chest.

"Alright. But just enough to stop the bleeding." He reminded. His Uzumaki chakra would take care of the rest.

"Come now, brat."

Naruto huffed but stepped closer. Soon enough, Kakashi's hand was resting over the stab wound, glowing a faint green. The moment he was done, Naruto nodded and brought his hands up in a familiar seal. A small puff of smoke later and an exact copy of himself stood beside him.

"Explain what's going on. I'm going to bed." He turned to the door. "Dispel it once you're done, Dog." And with that, Naruto trudged out of the kitchen and towards the bed Molly had prepared for him. He was dead on his feet and was going to sleep. And god help him if anyone woke him up.

Kakashi blinked after Naruto's retreating back, and then turned to take a closer look at the room while he strolled casually across the floor to collect his kunai.

"Hello." He greeted the shocked and stunned people politely. "I am Dog, nice to meet you."

. o . O . o .

**Right, so. This has been sitting on my computer for quite a while... I know I haven't updated anything in over a month, but I just haven't had the time to really sit down and write -.- So I decided to share this with all you lovely people in the meantime! I've tried to make it a bit darker than my usual writing-style. I hope I've managed. **

**Either way, things have turned out quite a bit different for Naruto & co here, which I intend to make clearer as the story moves along. And on that note I'd also like to say that I can't be sure when the next chapter will be ready. So don't hold your breaths. **

**Please leave a review on your way out to tell me what you think :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wayward Winds**

When anyone failed to respond, Kakashi merely took it in stride and took a seat at the table, pulling out his water canteen and downed a few mouthful's of water. He was parched, and it made him wonder just how long he'd been out. And for Naruto to walk out on him like that... how long since the blonde had slept?

"How long was I out?"

"Almost two days." The clone answered dutifully.

"Hm. I expected it to be longer." Kakashi commented idly, taking another swig, quickly calculating how many hours that meant Naruto had been up without sleep.

"I gave you some of my chakra." Ah, that explained that then. If Naruto had given him some of his and the Kyuubi's mixed chakra, that would have helped speed up his recovery, but he would feel it for quite some time. A fair trade-off if you asked Kakashi, who was more familiar with chakra-exhaustion than most shinobi ever would have a chance to get.

While he thought, Kakashi took out a storage scroll and produced a spare shirt, which he quickly pulled on.

"So, where are we?"

The clone deflated a little and sat down opposite from him. "In another dimension." It sounded vaguely sullen to Kakashi. "These people's leader told me, and I summoned Kosuke to check if it was true and he confirmed."

"I see." Kakashi was lost in thought for a while, considering the consequences of this and the actions they could take to return to their own dimension again.

"Wait... you accept it just like that?" The girl who had screamed earlier asked incredulously, looking between Kakashi, Naruto's clone and back again in rapid succession.

Kakashi blinked at her, taking a moment to study her bushy hair and facial features. "Yes." Was it so hard to believe? He could open a window to another dimension with his eye, so why not? He suppressed a groan at the thought and barely refrained from slamming his head against the table.

"What is it?" The clone asked, zeroing in on his altered body language immediately.

"I think this might be my fault." Kakashi explained, mentioning towards his left eye with a hand, not needing to explain further.

"Ah. I guess that would do it." The clone nodded his agreement and then sighed. "These people have promised to help us home in any way they can. In return, I offered my assistance until we can leave."

"You what?" Kakashi straightened, blinking at his ex-student, suddenly fully alert and focused. Or, as fully alert one can get after a two day long, exhaustion-induced coma, fully trained or not.

"We are relying on them while we're here, Dog. Think of it as a mission-fee." The blasted clone said.

Kakashi's still-muddled mind took a moment to consider it and then slowly nodded. "I suppose that is reasonable; nothing in this world is free." He muttered. He continued in a more normal tone. "I take it they are in need of our particular set of skills, then?"

"They are." The clone confirmed. "As far as I understood it, they're at war here. It flared up not long ago and is still not fought in the open, but is brewing under the surface." He turned his face towards the people at the table slightly, and several people nodded to confirm that he had understood it correctly.

"Wonderful. Right up our alley, then." Kakashi said wryly. "Another war to be fought. Are you trying to get me killed, Fox? Is that it?"

"Well... you are getting old." The clone retorted innocently. "Can't really have you go peacefully in your sleep due to old age. Imagine the disgrace; your reputation would never recover."

Kakashi huffed. "Where in the world did my cute little Genin go?" He demanded to know.

"He grew up." The Naruto clone chuckled, reassured by the familiar banter that his sensei was truly alright and would fully recover.

"Er... I have a question." Both shinobi turned to the redheaded girl, who looked slightly unnerved under their combined focus. "Didn't you go up to bed? And how are there two of you?" She stared at Naruto, as if looking at him long enough would allow her to figure it all out.

"The original did go to bed. He's been awake for more than seventy two ours now, so he was at his limit. I am just a clone."

A glass toppled over and spilled juice all over the table before someone waved a wand to spell it away. Kakashi took note of the action with some interest.

"A clone?" Hermione repeated faintly, hands still poised over the toppled glass, as if she hadn't registered that it was no longer in her hands.

"Yes, I am a copy of the original, down to every memory. I even have the injury Dog-sensei gave him." He raised a hand towards his shoulder.

"Have you told them about chakra?" Kakashi asked curiously, watching the varied reactions around the room at the revelation.

"A little. It's difficult to explain." The clone grimaced under his mask; Naruto had never been good with theory to begin with, and trying to teach someone else... "But they have their own version of chakra here, it seems. They call it magic, but it works differently from what I can tell."

"Interesting." Kakashi pulled out a rations bar from his pack and managed to eat it without revealing anything of his face by using a very simple genjutsu. "And you use those sticks for your magic, don't you?" He eyed one of the tools speculatively.

"Yes."

Kakashi nodded slowly, thoughtfully. "Well, I don't have any more questions that can't wait until Fox wakes up. You can dispel." The clone nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Now that he no longer needed his hands free for their silent -additional- discussion and status report, Kakashi took out his Icha Icha and relaxed as he let his eye follow the familiar lines. The rest of the room's occupants seemed to take this as a sign that he wanted to be left alone, and returned to their own conversations.

Kakashi listened closely to what was said, but felt relatively relaxed in the warm, friendly atmosphere.

. o . O . o .

Harry, Ron and Hermione sat together at the kitchen table the next morning, quietly discussing the strangers' behaviour while eating their breakfast.

"So what do you guys think?" Harry asked.

"It's difficult to say. I mean; we can't even see their faces." Hermione began in a matter-of-fact voice. "But there's something dangerous and forbidding over them, occasionally."

"Yeah, but have you seen the muscle on them?" Ron managed to get out around a mouthful of food. Hermione gave him a disapproving glance, but was so used to it that she didn't bother mention his poor eating habits anymore. Most of the time.

"But can we trust them?" Harry wanted to know.

"Professor Dumbledore did look through his mind, so it should be alright." Hermione said, but she didn't sound as certain as Harry would have liked. And this entire concept of mind-reading was so new, to at least two of them, that the consequences were still making their heads reel.

"There's a lot they're not telling us." Harry murmured. His words made Ron and Hermione exchange nervous looks. Despite everything that had happened the last couple of days, they hadn't forgotten Harry's emotional explosion when he had arrived at Grimauld Place.

"Secrecy is one of the cornerstones of Shinobi life." A monotone voice stated behind them, making all three teens jump with fright.

"Bloody hell! Don't do that!" Ron managed to hiss, massaging his chest over his heart as he glared up at Fox, who tilted his head curiously to the side. He looked like a creepy owl when he did that, Harry thought, eyeing the white porcelain mask carefully.

"Language, Ron." Mrs Weasley snapped absently as she deposited a plate of bacon on the table. The woman seemed to have decided to ignore most of the things in connection to the two shinobi men who were suddenly in their midst, preferring to leave them be as much as possible. She probably found it easier to handle that way.

"Sorry, Mum." Ron muttered sullenly, but quickly forgot everything else as he reached for the still sizzling bacon.

"What do you mean by that?" Harry asked, watching as Fox sat down opposite them and hesitantly reached for a plate.

"Our entire profession is centred around the idea of secrecy. Performing things that need to be done, but no one wants to do or even think about. We sometimes guard people who don't want other people to know, or it's the target that's not supposed to know we're guarding him or her." Fox shrugged. "We spy on other nations, dig out any information that is or isn't useful to protect our own, all without being discovered." It really was a mystery as to how he managed to eat without removing his mask, Harry thought. "We even live in Hidden villages."

"How does that work?" Hermione asked, ever eager to learn new things.

Fox tilted his head to the side. "Well, they're not really hidden in a literal sense, but there's nothing obvious about them either."

"What is it that makes them Hidden, then?" Ron questioned, a puzzled look etched on his face.

"They're not marked out on any maps, for starters, making it more difficult for enemies to locate and infiltrate," but not impossible, and information like that couldn't be recovered once attained. Something several wars had made perfectly clear. "And the Shinobi base could've been located in the Capital, but it's not. Instead, we live in a smaller village so as to be able to go on missions more easily and get away from the power-play around the Daimyo." Or so he had been told. Repeatedly.

"Daimyo?"

"Our country's leader." Fox explained.

"I thought your leader was someone else...?" Harry frowned, trying to remember the foreign title.

"We regularly take missions from the Daimyo -he's one of our main employers- but our leader is the Hokage. It means fire shadow." Fox said. "She's our military leader, and pretty much holds all the power where shinobi are concerned."

"It's a woman?" Hermione sounded surprised by this fact.

"Yes. Hokage-sama is the first female Hokage we've had, though."

"And is that common? A female in power, I mean." Hermione wanted to know, a look of interest dominating her features.

Fox thought about it. "Well, there's a majority of men, but the Mizukage is female, too."

"Speaking of the Mizukage, did she send you any more letters?" Dog was suddenly sitting next to Fox, making the three teenagers jump again.

"Shut up, Dog."

"Uhm...?" Ron looked from one to the other curiously, even as he was rubbing a hand over his chest to try and calm his racing heart. Again. He suspected this was something he might have to get used to if he was to spend any length of time with the two shinobi.

"She's got something of a crush on Fox here."

"She does not." Fox groused tersely, the emotion overcoming the monotone tone of voice they were all still getting used to for just a moment.

Dog gave him an amused, knowing look and then turned to the three inquisitive teenagers. "So is this some sort of interrogation?" He asked lightly, running his gaze over each of them in turn.

Hermione blushed. "We're just curious."

"Ah, but information can be dangerous." Dog told them, reaching for a cup. Silence rang for a few blissful minutes before the redhead decided to speak up.

"So, why are you called Dog?" Ron asked. "I mean, isn't that kind of offensive?"

Hermione looked like she wanted to smack him, but was interested enough to hear the answer that she let the rude remark slide.

"Why is it offensive? Dogs are the most loyal of creatures, and they're great to have at hand in a fight." The skin in the corner of Kakashi's eyes crinkled in amusement, thinking of what Pakkun would say to a comment like that being spoken in his vicinity.

"Hear, hear!" Sirius grinned. "I knew I liked you blokes for a reason!"

Fox tilted his head with a considering air. "You do smell like dog, you know."

"Sirius _is_ as dog." Remus smiled as he took a seat next to Hermione and began to fill a plate with fried eggs and bacon, having followed Sirius into the room. He expertly ignored said friend's cheerful exclamation of 'Breakfast!'.

"Wait, you can _smell _him?" Hermione asked, eyebrows raised at the revelation.

"Yes. Both Dog and I can, actually. Dog, because he has a summoning contract with dogs. And I... well, there are certain circumstances." Fox chuckled humourlessly.

Hermione frowned and opened her mouth to say something, but Sirius beat her to it, averting the question before it could be asked.

"Like your frog, you mean?"

"Not a frog!" Fox straightened, sounding faintly agitated. "They're _Toads_!" He hissed.

Dog chuckled amusedly. "Still sensitive about that?"

Fox bristled. "They're toads, Dog. Not frogs, and definitely not _lizards_!" He growled.

"I sense a story here." Remus mused, leaning back in his seat and cradled a tea cup in his hands tiredly. The full moon was just a week away and it showed, if you knew what to look for. He sure as hell felt it.

"It's quite funny, actually." Dog began, ignoring Fox's indignant exclamation that it certainly wasn't _funny_! "We fought an enemy a few months back who decided that Fox's summons were... harmless-looking and weak, and decided to mock them with every blow." Dog shrugged; that nin had been a complete and utter idiot, if not weak. "It's been a touchy subject since then." He smirked underneath his masks.

"Until I summoned Gamahiro on his ass. He wasn't laughing then." Fox smirked with vindictive glee at that part of the memory.

"Mmm, more like screaming in terror." Dog agreed calmly, sounding more as if he was commenting on the weather than on a fight to the death.

"...because of a fr- toad?" Harry asked carefully, catching his slip at the last second, not wanting to attract Fox's ire.

"Well, look at it like this." Dog began as he took out the same orange book from the day before. He flipped it open and began to read unconcernedly. "You'd scream in terror too, if you suddenly had to face a toad the size of a small mountain wielding swords."

Sirius leaned back and gave an appreciative whistle. "Sounds impressive. Gives some perspective on the one you," He hesitated slightly over the word, "summoned the other day. I thought that was rather big for a toad."

"Kosuke is one of the smallest toads I know." Fox said, reaching for a piece of toast. "Except for Pa and Ma." He added as an afterthought, thinking of the old couple that had all but adopted him.

All the wizards and witches in the room hesitated. Finally, it seemed to fall on Mrs Weasley to ask the obvious question on everyone's mind.

"Your parents," She paused, "are toads, dear?" Her voice was careful and hesitant. Even in another world, that couldn't be common, could it? Or even possible?

"My what?" Fox stared blankly at the woman, not having expected the question.

"Your parent's, Fox." Dog repeated, voice as dead and emotionless as a piece of rock. In their profession, people generally didn't speak of parents, or family at large. Mainly because of the high death-toll, but also because it was sensitive information best not divulged to just anyone. Besides, if someone noteworthy died, you'd hear about it from another source and know to stay clear of the subject.

"No, no, I don't have parents." Fox was quick to explain, and Kakashi could imagine him waving his hands almost frantically, had he been out of the mask. "Ma and Pa are toad elders who have taught me. They're considered family, though."

"Oh." Mrs Weasley said softly. "I'm very sorry to hear that." And she returned to her cooking.

"You don't have parents?" Ron asked, glancing at Harry before turning his full attention back to the shinobi.

Fox nodded, having caught the interaction between the two and focused mainly on Harry when he answered. "They died the day I was born." Unconsciously, his hand came to a rest on his stomach, over the seal painted on his skin.

"Orphans are unfortunately very common in our profession." Dog added calmly. It was a fact of life, unfortunately.

"Yeah. I mean, out of my entire Genin team, there was just one member who still had parents. Or a family at all, really." Fox said spreading jam over another slice of toast. Harry absently wondered how he had missed the first one being devoured as he absorbed that information.

The room digested that a moment before Remus caught on to an unknown word, and being the scholar he was, he had to ask.

"What's Genin?"

"It's one of our ranks." Dog explained after a brief -almost nonexistent- pause, seemingly not taking his attention away from his book.

"Would you mind explaining?" Remus asked hesitantly, putting his cup down to fully focus on the man.

"Not at all." Dog waved a hand dismissively. It might actually help them in the future if these wizards knew more about their skill-level. Especially if they were to work for them. "First there's Academy students; not yet shinobi, but no longer just civilians. Once they graduate, they become Genin. Genin usually operate in teams of three, overseen by a Jounin sensei; their teacher. Once they're experienced enough and have improved under their sensei, they're nominated to the Chuunin exam, where they're given a chance at promotion." Dog explained briskly, keeping an eye on them to make sure they understood; he'd rather not repeat this too many times. "If they survive the exam, as well as clear all the tasks and prove themselves worthy, they're promoted to Chuunin and are given more difficult missions. Some Chuunin stay in the team formations they had when they were Genin, but can just as easily be paired up with other Chuunin or, from time to time, with Jounin." He could see some were curious about what Jounin were and quickly continued before they could ask. "Jounin are the top rank, officially. Chuunin can take the Jounin test once they feel they're ready. A test that looks into their leadership abilities, skills and overall strength. Sometimes they're promoted to tokubetsu Jounin, which means special Jounin. These are shinobi who're very skilled in a certain field, such as genjutsu or the use of a particular weapon." Silence filled the room while the wizards and witches tried to digest the complex explanation.

"What are you?" Harry asked curiously, gaze darting back and forth between the two.

"Jounin." Both of them stated simply.

"Wait, you said you were something else the other night." Remus frowned, thinking back. "Anub, or something."

"ANBU." Fox corrected softly.

Dog sent him a look, but didn't comment. "ANBU are special forces. They are... the darker side of the shinobi profession, if you like. ANBU take care of the extremely dangerous missions, or the missions that are harmful to a person's wellbeing. No one but ANBU know exactly what it is ANBU does, and all the civilians know is that ANBU are the best of the best. The elite of the elite." And, of course, stating it like that made sure he revealed nothing.

"What do you mean 'harmful to a person's wellbeing?" Hermione scowled, latching on to that term. She didn't like the sounds of it at all.

"Some say all ANBU are bat-shit insane." Fox chuckled amusedly. Of course, they said the same thing about Jounin... Yet another occupational hazard, Fox mused, absently wondering what that made the two of them, being both. The dead silence in the room was heavy and slightly worrying.

Dog sighed. "There's a saying that's common in our world." He began. "The stronger the shinobi, the crazier the person." When no one said anything, he added; "You can't really survive as a shinobi without any ramifications, or side-effects." He shrugged, well used to the fact.

"You mean mental problems...?" Hermione looked concerned and a little fearful, gaze flicking from Dog to Fox and back again, repeatedly.

"Yeah, but don't worry. We've both been cleared by our Psych department, so we're fit to work." Fox told them cheerfully.

Hermione was more worried by the fact that there was a _need_ for a Psych department to begin with. And what, exactly, were they doing that made them mentally unstable?

"I'll fit in nicely with you guys then." Sirius smirked playfully, nudging Remus with his elbow, as if to include him in a private joke. Fox tilted his head curiously, but didn't say anything. He _had_ seen certain signs. "I've been accused of being an insane murderer, and am currently hiding from our government." He explained with a casual wave of a hand, as if it wasn't particularly important.

"Who'd you kill?" Fox asked, not even a hint of fear or accusation in his voice. There was just curiosity.

"No one." Sirius shrugged. He had to admit the response was refreshing. "I was framed."

"Must suck royally." Fox said sympathetically.

"It's not exactly been fun." Sirius agreed sardonically. "But at least I'm not stuck in prison anymore."

Remus elaborated when Naruto tilted his head curiously. "It's been a hectic couple of years."

"Yeah." Harry huffed darkly, agreeing wholeheartedly with that conclusion.

It was silent for a minute, the sounds of Mrs Weasley working at the kitchen counter the only source of noise. "I sense a story." Naruto said slowly, copying the expression Remus had used earlier, correctly assuming it was a safe, polite way to inquire further without coming across as a complete bastard.

"I-" Harry began, but hesitated, not really knowing what to say. How did one explain their life?

"Harry, here, is the ultimate trouble-magnet." One of the twins said cheerfully -cutting in before the silence could become awkward- and slung an arm over the boy's shoulders.

The other twin nodded enthusiastically. "He's kind of famous." He stated grandly, peering down the length of his nose at them all, giving them a nice view of a perfect expression of superior arrogance. They had been mostly silent up to now -having kept to themselves and held quiet, hushed conversations while listening to the general discussion around them. Both Fox and Dog had kept a careful eye on them ever since entering the room.

From the looks of things, Harry wasn't exactly happy with his fame, either, no matter the wry amusement twitching his lips while watching the twins.

"For what reason?" Kakashi asked. This seemed to be significant information, and something worth learning more about.

"He survived the killing curse when he was little, which resulted in the... kind-of-death of Lord Voldemort, who's a very evil wizard." Hermione explained briskly, sparing the others from trying. Kakashi nodded to show he understood and then returned to his book, saving any questions he had for later. They sat in silence for a few minutes, until Kakashi had deemed Naruto had eaten enough. He stood to his feet with a slow stretch, evaluating his condition.

"Come on, Fox. We have things to do."

"Coming." Naruto said, taking his plate and setting it down in the sink, more out of habit than necessity -magic was weird like that, he had found out.

"Where are you going?" Sirius asked curiously. He had nothing to do, and anything was better than utter boredom. Or cleaning. Not that the two weren't synonymous.

"Upstairs, to that big room." Naruto said.

"Doing what?" The twins asked in unison, an expectant, mischievous sparkle in their eyes, waiting for any kind of reaction to their combined speech. Naruto disappointed them, though, ploughing on as if he hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary.

"We have to contact our Hokage, to let her know where we are and that we're alive. On top of that, we have important information for her." Naruto said as he walked around the kitchen table, seemingly missing the long look the twins shared.

"Can we come?" The redheaded girl asked, perking up at the prospect of doing something other than helping her mum clean yet another part of this dreadful house. The fact that they might learn something more about the two shinobi didn't hurt either.

Naruto exchanged a look with Kakashi before nodding. "Sure. Just keep to the wall, to make sure you're not trampled." He smirked.

In the end, all the kids, plus Sirius and Remus followed the two shinobi up the stairs and into the salon. Remus offered his assistance by moving all the furniture to the side with a single swish of his wand.

"Thanks." Naruto gave him an appreciative nod, before walking to the centre of the room. Kakashi waited by the rest of them, having tucked away his book for a change.

Naruto took out a kunai, cut into the pad on his thumb and then flashed through the more than familiar hand seals. He slapped his hand on the floor and a couple of seconds later, a large puff of smoke announced the arrival of Gamakichi.

"Oh, he's much bigger than the other one." Sirius breathed, utterly fascinated by this new form of magic. Not to mention the enormous, orange toad sitting in the middle of his ancestors' salon. He briefly entertained the thought of what his parents' reaction to this would be, but decided to save that gem for later contemplation.

"Yo, Fox!" Gamakichi greeted. "Where the hell are you? Do you have any idea how much trouble it was getting here?" He complained good-naturedly. "Dog." He nodded towards Kakashi when he spotted him, and then paused. "What the hell are the two of ya doin' with all these civilians?"

Naruto chuckled, relaxing slightly in the company of his long-time friend. "Long story, Gamakichi."

"I guess that's why ya summoned me, huh." Gamakichi studied his old friend intently, not really surprised. "You alright?" He fingered the hilt to the impressive dagger strapped to his middle; a gift from his pops.

"Yes, I'm fine." Naruto said, reassuring his friend, and then snapped into full ANBU mode. "I have several scrolls for Tsunade-sama, collected on our mission." He pushed down his left glove, exposing the seal Kakashi had painted there for him almost a year ago. He pressed his bloody thumb against it, sent a pulse of chakra through his finger and then felt the seal empty its contents. "Here, take these. They're to be delivered to Tsunade herself, understood?"

"Yeah, yeah." Gamakichi wrapped his tongue around the three scrolls and then seemingly swallowed them. Information for the Hokage's eyes only, he got it. "Anything else?"

"Yes." Kakashi took a step forward. "I've written a report on how we ended up here, and explained our situation." He threw the scroll at the toad, who caught it easily and tucked it away together with the rest of them.

"Gamakichi." Naruto said before the toad could return to his own dimension, and consequently, Konoha. "Make sure you tell them that it's dangerous for humans to travel from this dimension with you. I summoned Kosuke earlier, and he told me."

"Good thinkin'." Gamakichi snorted. "I imagine there're a few frantic shinobi in Konoha by now." And with that, he left.

Naruto was silent and still for all of a second, staring at the puff of smoke Gamakichi had left behind, before groaning and covering his mask with his hands.

"What is it?" Hermione asked worriedly, thinking he might be in pain after the impressive display of their unique magic.

"Wolf and Raven are going to be unbearable when we get back." The man muttered, causing his friend to chuckle softly. He didn't even want to _think_ about Sakura.

"At least they'll know we're alive." He clapped his hand on Naruto's shoulder comfortingly. "Rather this than MIA." He considered his words. "Or KIA." He added, more like an afterthought. But the former was still far worse than the latter, because at least with KIA you _knew_, and sometimes, that made all the difference.

"MIA?" Ron repeated, puzzled.

"Missing In Action and Killed In Action, respectively." Kakashi explained and then stretched carefully. "Maa, Fox, I think you should take a look at my back."

That snapped Naruto out of whatever thoughts he'd been lost in. "Why? What's wrong with it?" He asked, voice sharp.

Kakashi shrugged -the motion still careful and a little stiff, but not painful. "Feels like it's time to take out the stitches." He answered simply.

"Oh." Naruto relaxed. "Sure, let's go back to the kitchen. There's better light there... and it's cleaner." He added, glancing at the thick layer of dust and grime covering most of the room.

"Yeah, we haven't gotten to cleaning this room yet." Sirius said, giving the room a disinterested, resentful look. They trudged back out to the stairs.

"I might as well help you with that while we wait for Gamakichi to return with an answer, or the next Order meeting." Naruto said. He had been told there'd be one soon, and that he and Kakashi would be introduced to the rest of the members, as well as properly briefed.

"That's very kind of you." Remus smiled, knowing his best friend's thoughts and feelings on the subject. It couldn't hurt to have another set of helping hands.

Naruto shrugged. "I've never been very good at sitting still, and this place isn't exactly suited for training." He looked around with a mournful air. After just under three days, Naruto was already itching for something to do -preferably a heavy workout or spar. Hopefully both.

"Can't you train us?" Fred asked eagerly, taking advantage of the fact that his mother wasn't present to hear. This was the fourth time he had brought the subject up and wasn't planning to stop anytime soon.

"We'll see." Naruto answered after a short pause, considering the teen carefully.

"On what?" Ron gave him a suspicious look that was so obvious it almost made the two shinobi wince.

"On what the Order wants to use us for; our assignments." Kakashi cut in.

"You always talk like that." Ginny said abruptly, a small frown pulling at her eyebrows. "I don't like it."

"Like what?" Naruto glanced back at her. She was young, but seemed to pick up certain things quicker than the rest of them. It was rather interesting, and Naruto couldn't help but think about what it suggested.

"Talking about the Order 'using' you... You make it sound as if you're not even human." The grimace of distaste on her face was enough to tell them what she thought about _that_.

"We're weapons to be wielded. That's what shinobi are." Kakashi said, voice perfectly blank.

In truth, to the wizards, their voices always sounded blank -except the few times Naruto had slipped up a little- and it was no doubt eerie to them; the way they joked and interacted in perfectly monotone voices.

"But it's impossible to be like that. Everyone feels, and dream and... " Harry didn't quite know what he wanted to say and ended up staring beseechingly up at Fox' mask with a slight frown, willing him to understand. Desperately wanting there to be a normal face behind that bone-white mask, and thinking he might just catch a glimpse of it if he stared long and hard enough.

"We have something called the shinobi rules. It's a list of things that all shinobi should live after and strive to follow." Naruto tried to explain. He might not be much older than these people, but he couldn't think of them as anything other than children. The difference between them was just too great; staggering, really, if he stopped and thought about it.

"Rules?" Hermione didn't quite know what to think. A few years ago -before Harry and Ron had _corrupted_ her- she would've been thrilled to learn about something like that. But now, no longer quite so naive, she felt mainly apprehensive, if interested.

"Rule number 4," Kakashi began in a monotone. "A shinobi must always put the mission first." They were silent as they filed passed the covered portrait of Mrs Black, and Kakashi didn't continue until they had entered the kitchen. "Rule number 5; A shinobi must follow their commander's instructions. Number 9; A shinobi must never show any weakness."

"Rule number 25," Naruto added his own two ryo. "A shinobi must never show his tears." He had always wondered how and why that one had been added. Either way, it had stuck with him, never mind that he didn't agree with it in the least.

"That's inhumane!" Hermione exclaimed in a muted voice, sounding outraged and horrified on their behalf, even before the consequences of such rules had had a chance to sink in. "You- You're people like everyone else!"

"That's where you're mistaken, little miss." Kakashi said calmly, sinking languidly into a chair, nose already buried in his Icha Icha, which was held before his masked face like shield. "We are killers. Murderers. We are our country's attack dogs, and what we consider honour, others see as despicable acts of cowardice." He took a brief pause to turn to the next page. "We live, bleed and die in the shadows of society." He finally turned his face towards them, giving the group a clear view of the painted dog face on his mask, the dark blue lines looking almost black in the dim light.

"And dogs are useless if they don't follow orders, or are properly controlled." He intoned lifelessly, adding the last nail to the coffin.

"That's how you view yourselves?" Sirius asked, a dark, indefinable emotion colouring his voice. Dog's words kept repeating over and over in his head, echoing slightly, and he found them increasingly disturbing.

Naruto let out a silent breath. "You don't understand." He said, feeling tired and wondering if he really wanted them to.

"Damn right I don't." Sirius scowled, eyes the colour of clouds in a winter storm.

"There is too much blood on our hands." Naruto murmured softly, wearily. As if to emphasize his point, he bent his neck to stare on his own hands, not really seeing them. "But we don't like killing -at least not most of us." He added, thinking of the exceptions to that rule he had met through the years.

"I thought you said you were protectors?" Harry cut in tersely. He didn't know what to feel or think now. He had thought he had begun to get to know Fox, but apparently, there was more the man was hiding than just his face. And what did he mean '_most_ of us'?

Naruto tilted his head to the side. "We like to think we are." He smiled sardonically. He had come a world away from the brash Academy student who thought he'd become a hero and protect princesses. "Do you know what 'shinobi' means?" He fired off the seemingly random question into the silent room.

"No." Hermione answered for the lot of them, shaking her head. She knew many things, but not so much when it came to foreign languages. Sure, she knew a little French, some Latin, but whatever language they were speaking where Fox and Dog came from? No.

"It means 'Endure'." It was Kakashi who continued, sending Naruto a discreet, worried glance. "My sensei's sensei liked to say that Shinobi are those who Endure. Our lives are spent protecting our village and country. We do unspeakable things and live through what most others would label nightmares. But we endure. We fight wars, get injured and get up and fight some more." He turned to the next page, eyes automatically scanning the more than familiar words, taking comfort in the steady rhythm and flow of the sentences. "We endure."

Harry supposed he could relate to that, if he thought about it. He had endured quite a bit in his life, too, and had never thought much of people who just gave up. There were things worth fighting for, and then there were things that were even worth dying for, so he supposed he could somewhat understand what it was they were trying to say. To a certain extent, at least.

"So will you train us or not?" George asked casually, looking from Dog to Fox and back again, lighting the atmosphere with his words. It was as if he hadn't heard a word of what had just been said.

Naruto had to smother a snort. "I could give you a few tasks to get you started." He offered graciously after a brief, considering pause. "I doubt you'll like them, but it'll do you all good." He eyed the group intently.

"What is it?" Fred asked eagerly, unconsciously leaning over the table.

Naruto grinned behind his mask. "Exercise."

"What?" The twins blinked dumbly at them, turned to stare at each other and opened their mouths to demand an explanation, but Naruto cut them off before they could start.

"You're all pathetically out of shape." He leaned over the table and poked George in the chest to prove his point. "No muscle-mass to speak of. You'd never be able to keep up with any training either of us have to offer. At the moment."

Several of the teens let out indignant sounds, and one or two even blushed.

"Fox, don't antagonize the children." Kakashi admonished lightly. "They're civilians. And you can help them train off their baby-fat without taunting them." If they had believed Dog would be on their side, they were sorely disappointed. Sirius and Remus snickered quietly to themselves, but couldn't help but agree to the assessment. The two shinobi were nothing but muscle, and it certainly made it clear how out of shape most of the people in the Order -most of the people in the wizarding world, truthfully- really were. Them included.

. o . O . o .

Kakashi eventually reminded Naruto to take a look at his wounds.

"You're right; I'll remove the stitches." Naruto said after having inspected and prodded Kakashi's back thoroughly. They still had quite the crowd, but the two shinobi largely ignored the wizards. Naruto took out a kunai and began to cut the knots he had made, before pulling the thread out of Kakashi's skin with quick, efficient motions. It took a few minutes, but once he was done, he wiped Kakashi's back down and then spread a layer of salve over the fresh marks that would soon settle into scars.

Meanwhile, the wizards and witches in the room couldn't help but stare all the while. Harry watched silently, taking note of the sheer number of scars on Dog's visible skin; what had he done? Fallen through a blender? Although, to be honest, most of the scars were hardly distinguishable -nothing more than faint silver lines crisscrossing his skin- and looked old. Their earlier words rang loudly in his ears as he tried to picture what kind of lives they must have led. Still lived, he realised with a start.

"_'We live, bleed and die in the shadows'_." Hermione murmured quietly next to him, following a similar line of thought, voice barely audible as she repeated Dog's strange and ominous words, even in the silent room. It seemed a very apt description, now that they had a somewhat clear view of at least some of what they must have been through.

. o . O . o .

**Well, this was a bit quicker than I had planned, but heck; I figured I might as well give you what I had already written, no matter that it was a bit shorter than I had imagined. Eh. **

**I must say there were some very encouraging reviews to the first chapter, and, well, what can I say? I especially liked the one that compared me to a... what was it again? 'first taste is free - addict salesman'. Yup, some reviewers are creative, and it makes me grin like an idiot.  
**

**So, hope you've enjoyed the continuation. **


End file.
